Video Selections and a Panel Discussion on the Gentrification of the Mission District presented by the Video Activist Network (VAN)

But who are the people who have struggled for years to secure housing and defend
the rights of working people in this historically low rent and predominantly Latino
neighborhood? This evening's Video Presentation (approx. 45 min.) will outline
some of the historical and current housing struggles in San Francisco. It will be
followed by an Open Panel Discussion with some local tenant and housing rights
organizations about the movement to resist gentrification.

FEATURED VIDEOS:

"Defending The Hood!" by Agitspin Productions, 1999 (20 minutes)
Documents the recent events and emotionally charged issues of gentrification in the Mission District of San Francisco. Contributes much-needed analysis of the complex forces that destroy affordable housing and have filled the Mission with upscale bars, restaurants, boutiques and expensive lofts in what has been historically a vibrant, colorful, primarily Latino working class neighborhood. The video also explores how the Mission Yuppie Eradication Project became a national news story, and stirred emotional debates about gentrification through its campaign of incendiary rhetoric.

"On 16th Street" by Christopher Daly and Tracy Hoare, 1999 (7 minutes)
Documents the gentrification of the 16th Street corridor in the Mission District. Featuring interviews with local homeless people and victims of the recent (and highly suspicious) residential hotel fires.

Excerpts from other videos, including:

"The Mission" KQED's history of the Mission District neighborhood. This excerpt highlights the previous battle over gentrification in the Mission in the early 1970's when BART was being built.

"The Fall of the I Hotel" The classic documentary about the eviction of elderly Phillipino tenants from a residential hotel on the edge of Chinatown. This excerpt highlights the dramatic battle that took place between the SF Police and the hundreds of activists who resisted eviction.

OPEN PANEL DISCUSSION:
Featuring speakers from Mission Agenda, Eviction Defense Network, Mission Housing Development Corp., St. Peter's Housing Committee, and a spokesperson for the Mission Yuppie Eradication Project.

TIME/DATE:                 8:00 PM on Thursday, July 1, 1999

PLACE:                          Artists' Television Access (ATA), 992 Valencia @ 21st Street, San Francisco

ADMISSION:                $5 - $10 donation requested. No one turned away for lack of funds.

CONTACT:                  Whispered Media (415) 789-8484

Screenings are on the first Thursday of every month, starting at 8:00 p.m. at the Artists' Television Access, 992 Valencia @ 21st Street in San Francisco. All are welcome. No one turned away for lack of funds. If you would like to get involved with VAN, come to a screening and introduce yourself, explore the website, or e-mail us.